Best sub-R1k graphics card?

buffalobill

buffalobill

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I want to upgrade my kids' computer graphics card. What's the best available for games in the under R1000 range and where to get it? They're mostly SIMs girls but want to get Tombraider Underworld. I'll upgrade for them but not at any price.
 
For about R1000 you could pull in a GeForce 9500GT or add in a extra hundred bucks and get a GeForce 8600GT - thats pci-e, and that my opinion...
Dont know much about latest ATI cards though...
 
GIGABYTE® NVIDIA® GeForce 9400GT, 1GB 128Bit GDDR2, PCI-E 2.0, D-Sub, DVI, HDTV, DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.1, SLI Ready, Vista Premium - that's just under R1000.
 
Oh noez! Ati HD 4670 for under R 1000. If you willing to bump another 300, you can get yourself an HD 3870. But the HD 4670 will be your best bet.
 
buffalobill said:
Point made. MB has both AGP and PCI but not PCI-E.

I foresee this being a problem already. Maybe I upgrade the MB, buy myself a decent card and give them the handmedown.

Sigh. It never ends.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you are between a rock and a expensive place there...

If it was PCI-E you could get a asus 9600gso for R999 or a 9600gt for R1199.
 
buffalobill said:
Point made. MB has both AGP and PCI but not PCI-E.

I foresee this being a problem already. Maybe I upgrade the MB, buy myself a decent card and give them the handmedown.

Sigh. It never ends.
Click to expand...

That will probably be the best choice. You can also look for 2nd hand 7600GT or similar AGP card , but chances are you are going to overpay for a AGP card because they are so rare these days.
 
PC Direct said:
So it's an AGP card you require. They don't make them anymore :(

GL :)
Click to expand...

Well they did until very recently anyway, you could get a 3850 AGP etc. But that's just over R1000 and worse than what you'd get sub-R100 on PCI-E.

If you look second hand you could probably get something decent on AGP for around 1k.
 
4670 ftw, my brother just bought one and it smashes anything that nvidia has to offer in that price bracket!
 
Hmmm AGP (new):

3850 cheapest 1.6 - 1.7k prophecy (Gecube brand)
3650 1.3 - 1.4k
7950gt 1.1k - 1.12k (think its been discontinued)

2nd hand prices expected:
3850 (havent seen any)
3650 (havent sen any)
7950GT(R500...saw one on gumtree JHB the other day)
X800/50 pro/xt (R600 on prophecy I think)
6600GT (R350 but that was sold long ago, there's another one for R500 on bidorbuy)

Anything lower like the 9250 or 5200 is just a waste of money (R200), the same performance as onboard graphics.
 
If it was pci-e the 4670 or 4650 definitely would be the best. No idea why some people recommended the 9500GT or 8600gt. Even the 4650 smashes the 9500gt.
 
I had the same idea as you but ended up spending R 2k instead of R 1k and just got myself the 9600GT.

Awesome card so far BTW :p
 
Well, this discussion and some shopping around and I'm getting a 2nd hand MB and card for myself. I can swap the CPUs around and voila, problem solved for R1600. Now I can play GTA IV.
 
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